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Stupid Question: Ruger 10/22 for defense?

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orangeninja

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I just read that .22 lr. round is probably responsible for more fatal shootings than any other. Probably due to the availability but it got me to thinking. A semi auto with a high cap even in .22 would be very deadly due to the amount of lead you can put out in a short time and the velocity of the round. I wonder how this would rate in a up close confrontation compared to a .223?
 
I'd reach for my 10/22 if it were all I had, but a 22 rimfire is not such a good penetrator as most centerfire rifle rounds are.
 
Let me start off by saying that I DO NOT WANT to be shot with a .22LR and that I do think it would most likely be fatal with the right placement.


That said, there isn't much comparison between a .22LR and a .223. The .223 has SO much more power. I haven't shot much with it, but it definitely has more stopping potential than a .22LR. Animals that I had to shoot multiple times with a .22LR to kill would be pretty well blown apart by a .223 varmint load.
I personally wouldn't want to rely on a .22LR if I didn't have to for self defense. I've used it to kill alot of racoons, groundhogs, possums etc. around the farm and while its quite deadly when used right, it just doesn't have the power of a .223. You can reliably anchor racoon sized animals with one shot, but it has to be pretty well placed. I just can't see betting my life on it.

Like you said, you could put a lot of lead into something with a semi .22 and a hi cap mag. Trouble is that takes time, and the whole time your shooting they can shoot too. When your life is on the line you want to be the first to shoot and the only one to shoot.
 
I just read that .22 lr. round is probably responsible for more fatal shootings than any other.
Click to expand...
Possibly, when accidental and suicide stats are examined. But I'd bet it's one of the lowest in 'stopping effectivness'. I know one friend that died hours after a COM shot to the chest, and someone in a nearby town that died days later. Then I can think of several unsuccessful suicide attempts I investigated where the person is still alive today. Nearly all being cranial shots.
 
Probably due to the fact that lots of bangers prefer mouseguns cuz they're easier to hide.

10/22 wouldn't be my first choice, nor my tenth. Better than harsh words, though.

As for the .22 vs. .223, two words: hydrostatic shock.
 
No round is perfect - people have shot themselves with .44s and survived (probably due to flinching). That said, a .22 LR autoloader would obviously be low on the list of choices for self-defense. It could possibly be better than a bolt action at close ranges, but then you would be better served with a decent centerfire pistol or a shotgun.

Remember, most gunfights aren't about volume of fire. If you are truly defending yourself in your own house, you have lots of knowledge of your surroundings, and it is counter-productive to pour 30 rounds of .22 at the enemy when a single well-placed shotgun blast will suffice when the perp rounds the corner or enters the hall. Of course, most criminals will run after being shot at, but you never know...

I DO have a Marlin .22 carbine on my bed, and it is there for self-defense. But my WASR-10 is right beside it, and my 870 right beside that... ;)

The 10/22 is a reliable autoloader with the rotary magazine and all, but the hi-cap mags for it are dicey and lessen the reliability. Stick with a bunch of normal capacity mags and get good at reloading them under stress.
 
I was thinking about this the other day. I got a nice light 10/22 with a carbon fiber barrel and rubber stock. A quick burst from it would do alot of damage to the perp without alot of damage to my hearing. And if it fails to do the job or jams for whatever reason pick up the real firepower.
 
you know, i've contemplated this question recently. as far as shot placement is concerned, i am a far better rapid-fire-shot with my mark2 than i am with my kimber, (i am ashamed to admit this).

if i had to, my first option is my shotgun.
my kimber is on the nightstand.

i've been thinking about putting the ruger mk2 closeby as well, at the very least, if all else failed, i can get off 10 quick shots.

probably wouldnt hurt to keep my marlin unchambered but magazine inserted as well.
 
Remember the discussion about why we changed our service pistol to the .45 many years ago. There were tribesmen in the Phillipine Islands who would get all hopped up on drugs and charge. Shots from the .38 wouldn't knock them down and they would run into the US lines waving bolos and swords, etc. They would eventually die but would take several US troops with them. The .45 would knock them down and they'd spend all their dying energy trying to get back up.

One can extrapolate backward to the .22. How many shots would it take to stop a coked up bad guy who breaks into your bedroom from hacking you to death before he finally died?

Note to cocaine smoking BadGuys: Mrs Meek's current favorite home defence pistol is a .45. :what:
 
OK, there is one reason that 22lr is responsible for the most deaths, no one has said it yet...someone tell me, why is it that such a small round holds that stat?
 
The army was using ball .38 ammo, right? A poor manstopper.

Modern .22 high-velocity hollowpoints cause a decent amount of tissue damage. Obviously, if some guy is coked up, it's best to shoot them in the face - a lot. Unless your particular coke addict is wearing a full on helmet :), it's better than any other non-firearm weapon, right?
 
Why do we have to bring up the noise factor when dealing with self defense? I don't care how loud it is, I am trying to save my life. I will take my .223, M1 Carbine, 12 Gauge, .308, Mosin Model 44 or anything else over a .22 any day when it comes to shooting a bad guy in the house. Yeah hearing damage is permanent, but so is death.

Use what you got, but if you have a bigger gun and you chose the 10/22, good luck. I hope it works out for you. I would rather rely on a bigger round that delievers more force upon impact with the idea that the greater the trauma, the more likely I can stop a bad guys actions.
 
OK, there is one reason that 22lr is responsible for the most deaths, no one has said it yet...someone tell me, why is it that such a small round holds that stat?
Click to expand...

.22 ammo is cheap and plentiful. Guns that fire it can use simplified blowback actions that are less expensive to produce, and thus they are cheaper (compare a Browning Buckmark, a good .22 pistol that costs around 300 bucks, to the BHP, which obviously costs more). .22 guns are smaller and more concealable.

I think that about covers it. :D
 
10 hits from a 10/22 beat the heck out of 6 misses from a snub nosed .357 magnum. When the rifle is empty, and BG is still up, the carbine will make a much better defensive/offensive club than most handguns.

The 10/22 costs a third of what a decent handgun costs, its much cheaper to practice with, and takes alot less training to become adequately proficient with.
 
I once emptied an entire 16-round magazine from a 10/22 into a skunk. I shot it in the head, the torso, the head again. I saw the eyeball pop out through my scope so I know I shot it through the eye. And the darned thing slowly crawled away. I reloaded the magazine and started shooting it some more, until it finally crawled into some brush. It being a skunk and all, I didn't want to get too close. I felt bad about not killing it, but I gave it my best shot.

I think a skunk might have tougher skin than a human, and as someone noted, I too would hate to get shot with a .22LR. As someone once noted about the infamous Los Angeles shootout, the cops would have been better off making a few headshots from a 10/22 than emptying magazine after magazine of 9mm into the BG's body armor. Still, when it comes to personal defense, more power is always better. I keep a Ruger PC9 and a Mossberg 12-gauge within reach of my bed. I plan to add a .357 Magnum shortly. I've seen a deer drop from one .357 round so it aught to do the trick on a bad guy.

BTW--I'd prefer a BG on cocaine to a BG on crystal meth. Cocaine makes them wired--meth makes them wired and crazy. The way this terrible stuff is tearing through rural America, I'm afraid we are about to see a huge increase in all kinds of crime.
 
Sure beats throwing rocks, and if its all you have, lock-and-load!
That said, A good shotgun can be had for the same amount of money.....
 
We're not talking knock down power or shot placement, we're talking deaths.. why?
Click to expand...

You're going to hear alot of speculation on that one.
My guesses:
Availability. Almost everyone has a .22
Concealability: criminals want free guns, immediately followed by guns they can hide
Also, I bet there is a macho "I ain't goin to the hospital" factor among BG's, especially when shot with a "deuce-duece"......
 
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